Secrets, Changes & Reunions
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner & Emily Prentiss, Established Relationship
Spoilers: A/U Season 6, Spoilers up to and including "The Thirteenth Step"
Sequel to "Secrets & Tragedies"
Rating: T
Summary: For six long months Hotch waited for the phone call that would tell him if Emily was alive or dead. When it finally came it was with the realization that the whole truth would come out and that things were going to change for the team again.
Author's Note: I started to kick this idea around before I even finished Secrets & Tragedies and was sort of a way to try and get back to the multi-chapter fiction that started it all. Emily will seem, at least to me, a little OOC in this but her behavior is established in the first of this series and if I ever get the stupid thing done, will make much more sense. I had been tossing the idea around of a story that takes place in the interim but with having such a hard time with the other one I think that idea is going to get banked.
I really hadn't intended to go any further with this other than my own meandering thoughts but all of the responses to the first one were so overwhelming that I was pushed to get this one done. I hope it lives up to expectations. I'm still working on "Secrets Revealed" but that one could take some time as it's much longer and more in-depth than either of these two. And I don't want to start posting it until I'm sure that it's not going to flat line on me.
So welcome to part two, which could actually be part five. Because that's how many ideas I have for this universe, if I ever get my head straight. I hope you enjoy and look forward to your comments.
All publicly recognized characters and storylines are owned by The Mark Gordon Company ,Paramount/Viacom, Touchstone Television, CBS Television Studios, ABC Studios, and their related entities.
All original characters, settings and/or storylines are Copyright protected ( Rev. Brandywyne L. Walker 2003 - 2011) Any duplication or distribution of this story, in whole or in part, expressly prohibited without written consent of the Author.
This story is a work of fiction by an amateur writer and is for entertainment purposes only. The writer is in no way associated with Criminal Minds or anyone connected to the program. No Copyright infringement is intended and no monetary compensation has been received by the creation of this story.
I Think He Knows
David Rossi was known for being many things but a patient man was not one of them, even at the best of time, and this certainly was not. Emily's funeral was almost three weeks ago and he had yet to hear Hotch say a word to the team that didn't revolve around work. When he wasn't working, he was looking out the window of his office and staring at nothing, seemingly lost in thought.
The whole team had noticed his preoccupation and had collectively agreed that he needed to come out of his shell, that this wasn't good for him. And in all their infinite wisdom had decided that if someone was going to confront Hotch it should be Rossi. Somehow they figured that if Dave went to him, he would be less likely to have his head removed from his shoulders.
The bullpen was quiet, everyone having left some time ago and standing there in the door to Hotch's office observing the man, Dave was not as certain about that assessment. Losing people always brought a period of mourning and each person handled it in a different way, but something about his old friend was different this time and Dave could admit… if only to himself… he had not one frigging clue what was going on in the man's mind.
Deciding to brave Hotch's temper he stepped into the office and cleared his throat. Hotch started at the sound, surprising Dave, and turned to him with a raised brow, querying as to why someone was disturbing his peace.
Looking at Hotch across the office felt more like he was watching him from across a canyon and somehow he knew, even before he started, that nothing was going to come of this conversation. He guessed it was time to bite the bullet, as it were.
Rossi sighed and took a couple of steps forward. "How long are you going to do this?" he softly questioned his old friend. Pain shot across Hotch's features before he closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again the hard closed off mask Aaron had been wearing since the day of the accident was again in place.
"Do what Dave?" The irritation in his voice was clear, even if you couldn't see it in his face, but that still didn't stop the older man from continuing.
Dave leaned against the desk, taking on an artificially casual stance, hoping that if he was less confrontational Hotch would open up to him. "Shut yourself away in your office, away from all of the others, hide your pain."
Hotch could feel the anger and pain that was always just beneath the surface grow. It was unintentional on Dave's part, he knew that, but there was no way Rossi could know what was causing him such distress and that his questioning, under the guise of helping, was making it infinitely worse.
How could Hotch possibly explain it to him? That the pain he was feeling was from separation the from his wife and not from the loss of her life.
His grief was transient, it would pass with her return and that provided him with some solace, but the others, Derek, JJ, all of them, Dave included, didn't have that comfort and with each day their sorrow ate at his soul. He was left with the knowledge that he could end it if he could just tell them the truth.
Aaron sighed and rubbed his forehead with the pads of his fingers. He could feel a tension headache coming on. He wanted to tell them, explain what had happened, but he couldn't and he knew that.
Interpol had incredibly strict regulations that came with their assistance, which both he and Emily had chaffed at, but they both knew that there was no way they could manage it without them. Hotch and Sean weren't allowed to tell anyone else what had really happened. It was the only way they could pull it off but every day he watched his team from his office window and wished for it to be over.
"What do you want me to say? What could possibly make a difference?" His tone was defeated when he finally spoke it and it finally caused Rossi to snap.
"SAY ANYTHING!" Dave took several deep breaths and tried to force his temper into submission. His anger and frustration with their leader was not going to help the situation. "The team needs you. And after everything that has happened to us in the last couple of years they know your human, they wouldn't think less of you for missing her." His voice was nothing but a mere whisper when he spoke again. "We all miss her."
Aaron could feel his mask beginning to crack and would have given anything for Dave to just go away so he could get control over his emotions again. The only time he didn't feel this crushing weight on his chest was when he was home with Jack.
The frustration he was feeling was clearly showing on his face. "I can't Dave. I can't say anything that will make this easier, that will make it hurt less."
"How do you know? You won't even try." Dave tried the last angle he had, hoping it would work, "She wouldn't have wanted this."
Dave watched as the rage and pain filled Hotch's face and for the first time since knowing the man was actually afraid of him. Hotch for his part wasn't angry with Dave but with himself. He knew he was breaking his promise to her but he honestly didn't know how to do this. To try and pretend she was gone and mourn her at the office and then shut it off at home with Jack.
"You think I don't know that? That I don't know how disappointed she'll be in me? You know nothing."
"Then why? Why are you doing this? It's totally out of character, even for you, shutting out everyone's pain and not even trying to help!" Dave's voice rose with each word until he was shouting at the end.
"Because I'm in love with her and she's not here." His chin dropped to his chest and the fire that had been there a moment before was gone replaced again with the constant sadness and fear.
Hotch realized at once what he had done and spun back to face the window, hoping that Rossi would miss it but knowing somehow that he wouldn't.
Dave looked at Aaron facing the window again, watched him trying to get control over his emotions and thought back over what he had just said. His eyes flitted back and forth as he processed each sentence, each word. His brows almost met his hair line as he focused in on what Hotch had been saying. Not the sentiment he expressed, that was less surprising than he would have expected, but it was the words themselves.
Hotch was always focused and controlled and in all of the years he had known the man one, the one irrefutable truth he had learned, was the Aaron Hotchner never, ever misspoke. And the last couple of statements were very much in the present tense.
Blond Fury In Three Inch Heals
Five Months Later
JJ had never experienced the level of rage she was feeling in that moment. She was clearly shaking with fury as she stormed into the BAU and shoved the doors open, causing them to bang against walls and cabinets alike.
Morgan, she thought it was, called out to her but she never looked up from her dash to the upper level, taking the steps two at a time. JJ never even slowed at the next closed door before slamming through that one as well. The next door to receive this particular brand of abuse belonged to none other than SSA Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief.
She stopped, shoulders heaving and burned her eyes into Anderson's, who sat in the guest chair in front of his boss' desk. JJ did something that six months ago, hell, six hours ago, would never have occurred to her to do, to show this level of disrespect for her once mentor and friend.
"Anderson… Get out. Right now." The poor Agent was so startled by the soft rage in her tone that he never even questioned her authority or gave a moment of thought to his boss before bolting from his chair and fleeing from the office, closing the door behind him. With Anderson gone, JJ turned her attention to the reason for her rage.
"JJ…" Hotch spoke softly as he moved around his desk.
Her eyes narrowed at his placating tone and as soon as he was close enough she struck. Raising her right hand she unleashed a slap on him that she was sure they could hear in the bullpen.
"YOU SANCTIMONUS BASTARD!" She heaved several deep breaths, trying to control the volume of her voice, before she continued, "How could you keep this from us? And don't bother to deny it. I can see it in your face. You knew and you never told us. You let us believe she was dead!"
Hotch was at a loss as to where to start, what to say, he never expected that one of them would find out on their own. He had always assumed that he would be able to sit and explain things to them, hopefully making it easier for them to undersstand, but for it to have been JJ…
Rather than questioning her, or reprimanding her, Aaron raised his left hand to rub gently at his cheek. That's when she noticed two things, almost simultaneously. The light in his eyes, the spark of happiness that had been missing these long months, had finally returned. That and the gold band circling his third finger.
JJ collapsed back in the chair that Anderson had vacated and felt the anger leaving her. Along with her anger went her control and the tears started.
Hotch didn't try to talk to her, simply pulled one of the chairs closer and sat next to her, allowing her to cry until she calmed down.
Once she had calmed slightly he handed her a tissue. Giving her a moment to collect herself he thought about where to start.
Aaron tipped his head, trying to catch her eyes. When she was finally looking at him, he spoke for the first time since she unleashed her anger on him.
"How did you find out?" Seemed like a logical place to start.
"I was copied a DOD report on the shooting death of Ian Doyle. The Interpol Agent was an American citizen and those higher up the food chain wanted me to prepare a statement in case the media got wind of it."
She shuttered a deep breath and allowed him to see her hurt and confusion. "Emily Christine Prentiss. When I saw it, I was in shock for several moments, trying to wrap my brain around what I was seeing. The Interpol Agent who fired the shot was listed as Christine Hotchner. In that moment, I knew. It had to be Emily and that you had to have known."
"I'm sorry. I know that doesn't really help but it's all I can offer you."
The accusation was back in her eyes as she spoke. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Hotch leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "It was complicated, there were so many things going on at the time, things we weren't allowed to say." He lifted his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose before allowing it to fall back onto the arm of the chair.
JJ found herself almost mesmerized by the glint of the gold ring. She reached for his left hand and traced the ring with her thumb. "But the Hotchner part of her name at Interpol… that's true isn't it?"
It was less of a question and more of a statement so he simply nodded his head. "She desperately wanted to keep some part of this life with her. So her middle name and our last name was what she chose."
There was a slight look of awe in her eyes at the fact that none of them knew, but in hindsight it was less of a stretch to keep quiet a marriage quiet than the other secrets this man had been hiding for the last six months.
"When did it happen?"
He smirked softly at her, "The relationship in general or our marriage?"
She lifted a shoulder negligently, "Both I guess."
"We were married about a month before the accident but we had been together for a few months before that." There was a soft light in his eyes that JJ hadn't seen in him since the first few months after Jack was born. Letting go of her anger for a moment, she was so very glad to see it. If there was ever a person that needed a little luck and a lot of happiness, it was the man next to her.
"Wow… I mean, wow, and you never told us, any of us. I mean, I get it, the relationship part of it, but why not tell us? We're your family."
There was a moment of sadness on his face, at not having been able to share the building relationship with them, not having them there when he told the world that this was the woman he loved and would spend his life with.
"We already knew that she was leaving at that point, we were already planning the how and when. It seemed too surreal and a little bit cruel to be celebrating our wedding and then in a few months mourning her death. Besides that, if she wanted to use my last name while she was gone, the paperwork had to take a walk until she came home. I believe currently it resides in a Judge's office at Justice."
"Now there's one thing I don't understand, and perhaps you can explain it to me, the accident itself. At one point or another, we all saw the reports, the witness statements, hell Hotch; we saw what was left of her car." There was a level incredulity in her voice and Aaron could understand; her car was a complete write-off.
"The accident itself was fortuitous luck, at least for us. She was in that accident but her injuries while fairly bad where greatly exaggerated. She had a severe concussion; there was some concern about brain swelling and she was unconscious for several hours after the accident itself."
Hotch took a moment to compose himself, thinking back over the panic he felt when he called Sean that morning, so afraid that it was true and at the same time praying that the messages Sean had left for him that night meant that it wasn't. They hadn't been planning on seeing each other but he knew that she was meeting with Sean McAllister to go over some of their plans for her exit. He found out much later that they had been heading to Quantico when the accident happened.
"Sean was following her; they were on their way here at the time. When he realized what was happening, what it could mean, he planned fast. He stayed with her at the hospital, talked to Interpol and got everything ready for her exit then."
JJ's jaw dropped in surprise, she had met Sean several times over the last couple of months and she couldn't believe that he could be that uncaring. "He didn't think to call you, warn you?"
He smiled softly at her distress, "He did, but he couldn't say anything in a phone message, but urgently wanted me to call. Strauss got here before I had a chance."
They both sat back and thought about everything that had happened. JJ sat back and tried to wrap her head around what he was telling her. But she figured even with the reports and everything Hotch was telling her, she wouldn't really believe it, till she saw her friend with her own eyes.
"She's okay and coming home?" Hotch nodded his head and smile lit up his entire face, startling JJ with how it changed his appearance, "When did you find out?"
"She called me the morning after the shooting; she was waiting for transport to Paris and requested that she be allowed to call."
"Why didn't you tell anyone? I mean, okay, I understand why you had to keep it a secret but you've known for almost a week now."
Aaron let out a soft sigh; how to explain it to her without sounding too melodramatic? "I wanted to wait till she was home. A part of me is still so afraid that something will go wrong and that she won't make it back. I can't believe it till she's here and I can see her with my own eyes."
Understanding how hard this was for her former boss she changed the subject to something less painful, "When will she be home?"
"She's in France right now and will be for a few more days. She has finish her debrief with Interpol and medical evaluation. Her plane is scheduled to land on Sunday morning at 1:35."
JJ sat up straighter, "I want to be there."
Hotch nodded and gave her a soft smile. "I think she'd like that."
Aaron hunched forward resting his forearms on his legs and used his thumb to turn his wedding band.
Smiling softly at the young woman next to him, "You know…" his tone was conspiratorial as he spoke to her, "I work in an office full of the most intuitive and observant people on the planet and in three days, you are the first one to have noticed."
The comment actually helped to ease the awkward air between them and JJ smiled.
Déjà vu, In It Truest Form
Aaron stood in front of the airport hangar doors once again and felt an awful sense of deja vu. He looked about the ground around him and realized that this was the exact spot he and Sean McAllister were standing in when Emily's plane had taken off almost seven months before. And just like then he couldn't relax, couldn't make himself look away from the darkened sky above him, almost as if he could will her into existence with his thoughts alone.
He looked over at the diminutive blond next to him and let out a sigh before turning to the darkness again. Hotch could remember all of the conversations they had late into the night as Emily poured out her worries about their plan. What would happen to the team, their family, and if this was a sin they could understand and forgive.
Taking a brief moment from his watch of the night sky he turned to the woman next to him, "JJ can you promise me something?"
"What's that?" Her brow wrinkled partly in question and partly at his almost subservient tone, something that you never heard from Hotch… ever.
"Promise me that you won't be too hard on her. This was not an easy decision for her to make. She agonized for weeks afterwards and she was so afraid that you wouldn't understand why we made the choice that we did."
JJ let out a breath and looked at the ground. "To be honest Hotch, I'm not sure that I do."
"I know you don't, but out of all of the others you have the greatest chance of understanding and she could use that support once she's home."
"I don't understand."
"You have access to information that the others don't, information they can't ever have." Raising a brow to impress upon her what he was suggesting. That JJ could use her position and security clearance with the DOD and dig a bit, dig into the things that Emily and Hotch couldn't tell anyone because it was still classified. The same reason that for all the years they had known Emily Prentiss, none of them even knew she worked for Interpol.
Hotch turned back to the sky and his watch for the plane, his voice soft but strong as it carried on the wind, "I fear that the team will see this as too drastic a measure. I know I did when she first suggested it. But if someone else could reassure them, someone other than me…" He let his voice trail off with the thought.
"I think I can do that." JJ turned slightly and looked at the man next to her, observed his serious and pensive face. For him to have even suggested that to her, made her wonder if perhaps it was information that she didn't want to have.
Moments later they spotted a plane on approach and she wouldn't have thought it possible, but Hotch tensed even further. Strung bowstring tight, she questioned if the poor man was just going to snap.
JJ glanced down at a movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed that Hotch kept flexing his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists and then shifting from foot to foot. She almost grinned at the almost childlike nervousness from a man that she had always considered the epitome of calm, cool, collectedness.
Aaron shook his arms out again and tried to control the trembling in his hands. In mere moments his wife would walk off of the plane and be in his arms for the first time in over a half a year.
JJ grasped the arm of his coat, causing him to turn and face her, briefly taking his eyes of the plane before returning to the sight.
"Hotch, relax."
"I don't know if I can. There was a part of me that always thought she would never make it back. That something would go wrong."
His eyes grew wet as he watched the plane turn from the runway and taxi towards the building he and JJ were standing in front of. He was starting for the plane the moment that it stopped, not even waiting for the engines to still.
The plane's engines finally stopped and Emily popped her head out of the cabin door breathing fresh air for the first time in six and a half hours. Her eyes scanned the surroundings, looking for Aaron but in the darkness of night, after the light from the cabin her eyes still hadn't adjusted.
One sight that was clear to her was a blond head standing under the lamp hanging from the side of the building and tears came to her eyes at the sight of one of her closest friends.
Her focus shifted with the sound of footfalls heading her way and then she had eyes for nothing but him. A sob broke loose from her chest and she whispered his name, as she spotted Aaron Hotchner heading for the plane.
Sean McAllister grabbed Emily's arm and helped her down the stairs. They reached the ground just as Aaron stopped in front of them. Sean smiled when he noticed the intensity in the man's eyes, certain that the he never even noticed his presence. Sean made sure Emily was stable before he moved off, heading for the blond that had been waiting with his friend.
Aaron noticed nothing except the woman he loved. His hand trembled slightly in midair as if afraid to touch an illusion and have it disappear, then he had her in his arms. Their lips fused in a kiss that spoke of both great sadness and overwhelming joy. Hotch reach up a hand to her cheek and angled her face, pulling her closer to his body, and reveling in her reassuring warm. She was real. This was real. Emily had finally come home.
Pulling away from the delectable touch of his wife's lips, Aaron closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, fingers reaching up to tunnel in her hair, what he felt caused him to pull back and finally take a good look at the woman in front of him.
Emily had easily lost 15 to 20 pounds that she couldn't afford; she was thin and sallow, like she had been deprived of sun for far too long. The jumpy look in her eyes that they had all but managed to banish from her before she left had returned and with it a sadness that was both new and heartbreaking. Hotch knew they were going to have a long road ahead of them.
Added to that was the short hair adorning her head, all of her deep dark locks cut off and what remained was a deep mahogany red. His fingers trailed across the top and fingered the short pieces at her neck before he glanced down at the cane that now lay on the ground. His brow furrowed when he noticed the way that she was clutching at him for balance.
"Hotch…" her voice was a soft whisper as the tears she was trying to control welled in her eyes, fearing the worst. She knew that she looked like hell. Sickly looking and thin. Her previously long dark hair, which he loved to play with in bed, was now gone in favor of anonymity. Cane abandoned on the ground, she clutched at his overcoat knowing if he moved away she would likely fall.
She opened her mouth to say something and Hotch cut her off with a gentle smile, correctly reading the panic in her eyes. "I love you Emily Hotchner. Welcome home."
And with that she was kissing him again.
JJ stepped forward and cleared her throat, breaking the moment between her two friends.
Watching their reunion any residual anger she held for Hotch was gone. She couldn't imagine what the past six months had been like for him. Trying to keep his mask in place while worrying about Emily's safety had to have been incredibly hard, having no one to share his fears with.
Emily pulled away from her husband and turned to the blond at his side. "JJ…"
Without a word her friend pulled her forward and then the tears started again. "Em, I missed you so much."
"I'm sorry JJ. I wanted to tell you. I did."
"I know, and it's okay." JJ reached a sleeve covered hand up and brushed the tears from her friends face, paying no attention to her own tear covered cheeks.
Sean came forward then and broke up the moment between the two of them. "We need to get moving. She needs to be sitting down and off her knee."
Hotch moved to her side and handed her the cane, moving to the other side and wrapped an arm around her waist, helping to prop her up for the short walk to the car.
"Let's go home."
Welcome Home To New Surroundings
Emily glanced over at Hotch as he drove into an unfamiliar neighborhood with small bungalow style houses lining the street. At first she didn't really notice when they headed for Quantico and not Washington, then she was afraid to break the silence. Afraid of the conversations she knew that they needed to have.
Emily was so used to be in control, being calm in the face of uncertainty, and now all she felt was tension and fear. It didn't matter that Ian Doyle was dead, or that she was home in familiar territory, the same panic she felt at the news of his escape, that had dogged her for months was still there, buried in her mind, never far from the surface.
Taking in the familiar streets of Quantico she willed herself to relax. This was the one place that she had always felt safe, being near Hotch. It was the one time she could let go of the paranoia and just exist, knowing that he would take care of her, protect her, keep her safe.
Emily let out a gasp as she spotted the house he was pulling up in front of. "The house… it's the one from the listing on my fridge."
He smiled softly at her and felt a moment of doubt that he had overstepped but knew it was too late for those doubts now, the house was the second most impulsive thing he had done. "Welcome home."
Hotch pulled into the drive and parked the car, turning to face her before he spoke, "I didn't want you to come home to nothing and my apartment would have been too small for the three of us. To be honest it was too small with just Jack."
He reached down and grasped her hand, folding it into his own. "There was nothing I could do for you while you were gone; all I could do was sit back and wait for you to come home. There was one night I went to your brownstone, before it was sold and I saw the listing on the fridge." He glanced out the windshield before looking back at his wife. "This was something I could do, something I could give you."
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she looked over at the little house, with its big trees and green grass. "Thank you." It was moments like these that she had the hardest time reconciling the man who she worked with and the man he was at home.
Hotch got out and moved around the car, opened the door and helped her out. It was now close to three o'clock in the morning and he was exhausted but he stood with her as she took in the view, his arms wrapped around her waist. "It's even more beautiful in the daylight."
"I don't know what to say." She turned in his arms and kissed his lips softly.
And then he said something that was so Hotch, "There's nothing to say Emily, it just is."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her up to the front porch. Once he was sure she was stable leaning against the house, he opened the door and deactivated the alarm.
The front door opened into the living room and there in front of her was a sight that brought tears to her eyes. Sleeping on the couch was Jack, curled up in the arms of his Aunt. Someone else she was going to owe many apologies to. It was a relationship that was very new but no less important for its brevity.
Hotch came up behind her after resetting the alarm and wrapped and arm around her waist, smiling softly at the sight. "I told him he could stay up till you came home. He was so excited I couldn't say no."
Jessica's eyes blinked open at the sound of Hotch's voice and gasped in shock. "It's true… I half thought he was losing his mind when he told me tonight."
Jack stirred and turned to face Emily. "Em'ly? S'at you?"
"Hey Jack." Emily hobbled her way over to the couch and sat down beside him. Sleepily, Jack climbed into her lap. "I missed you." Snuggled into her warmth he quickly drifted back to sleep.
All she could do was press her face into his hair and breathed deeply. She honestly though, boarding that plane six months ago, that she would never see him again and she hadn't even said good-bye.
Aaron came over and lifted Jack into his arms, smiling softly, carried him through a side hallway and to his room, leaving the two women sitting on the couch and Emily having no idea what to say.
"I understand now." Emily raised an eyebrow in question. "Why he wouldn't tell Jack, why he kept acting like you were coming back."
Emily dropped her head in shame, although she knew and understood his reasoning the dichotomy could not have been an easy one for Jess to deal with.
"Everyone else thought that he was letting time pass, the team, myself." She glanced at the woman beside her. "I thought he was allowing Jack to be used to you being gone before telling him the truth and I understood it, even agreed with it."
She looked off into the room, lost in her own thoughts, "But after the first couple of months, I wasn't so sure. Jack would be over and he would be telling me about this thing you were going to do when you came home and 'Dad said this, or Dad said that' and I wondered." She shrugged her shoulder. "Aaron has always been a take everything head on kind of guy and living in denial of something just wasn't like him."
"How much did he tell you?"
She smirked at that, "A fair bit, enough so that I would stop looking at him like he was crazy and belonged in a padded room."
Emily smiled at that, trying to picture Aaron dealing with someone that didn't just take a statement of his at face value. And the woman next to him was one of the few that could do it without it resulting in him trying to glare them into line.
Emily reached over and grasped the hand of her newest friend, "It was so hard, after we finally reach a decision. We wanted to tell you and the team but we simply weren't allowed. In order to get the help that we needed to pull it all off, we had to keep quiet."
Jessica looked down and noticed the way that Emily was rubbing the outside of her knee. "What happened?"
Emily started at the unconscious action; it was something she did now when nervous, and swallowed hard, this was something she hadn't even discussed with Aaron yet and she knew he was going to be furious with her for keeping it from him when she talk to him on the phone.
"Just before I…" Emily took a breath and tried to start again. "Just before I shot Doyle he kicked my leg out from under me. I was trying to get back up and he stomped on my leg. The doctor's guess that there was something about the angle my knee was at when it happened but it destroyed the cartilage in my knee and most of the tendons are torn. The tendons are healing well enough but the cartilage…" Her voice trailed off willing the woman to understand without her having to say it.
And Jessica did, her life as a member of the BAU was over, at least in the capacity she held now, "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I am too." Emily felt the same emotional response she did each time she thought about it, the contradiction between happiness and sorrow.
"So you can't…" Jess knew it was true but wanted to hear her confirm it none the less.
"No. I can't go back, but it was a small price to pay, knowing we are all safe from Ian Doyle."
Emily looked up and saw Aaron standing in the entrance to the hall with a soft, sad smile on his face. She smiled back in return. It was worth it, and a price she would gladly pay again just to be able to see him smile.
Understanding Comes
Aaron rolled over and grabbed the phone from his nightstand, hoping to grab it before it woke Emily up. They had been awake the rest of the night she came home, talking with Jessica and enjoying being together again. In the morning when Jess finally left, they kept Jack home from school and spent the day with him. Emily got a tour of her new home and they sat on the front porch and watched as Jack puttered about the front yard with his various toys.
Emily who should have been suffering from jetlag seemed to be handling it better than he was. But now, at 11:00 at night, she had finally taken a pill for her leg and seemed to be resting comfortably.
His eyes closed at the thought of her leg. He didn't have a chance until tonight to have a look at it. She had begged off his help and had changed into something more comfortable while he was making breakfast for Jack. She had finally come back to the kitchen dressed in jogging pants and a loose t-shirt.
But that night she had desperately wanted a shower and he knew she didn't trust her balance enough to try it on her own. Both naked in the bathroom he hand knelt in front of her and felt tears fill his eyes and his hand ghosted over her flesh, afraid to touch her, afraid to cause her pain.
Her right leg was almost a solid bruise, varying in color from yellow to deep purple, testifying how bad it had to have been for it to still look like this so long after the fact. The bruising started about mid-thigh and ran down the outside of her leg to mid-calf; the only place it wrapped around her leg was at her knee but the bruising still spanned father than the width of his hand. There were four small stitched cuts, two on each side of her knee, from the scope incisions. The doctors in Paris had performed the exploratory surgery the day she arrived in Paris and it was still healing and tender to the touch.
For her to have found out that not only were her days as a field agent over, she would likely need a cane for the rest of her life, must have been a crushing blow and she was all alone at the time. She was smart enough to know what was happening long before the scope and before Sean had arrived to bring her home.
Emily wouldn't let him come to Paris to be with her, not knowing how long she would be with Interpol before she could return. Her tone had said that she wanted him there but her words had firmly told him to stay at home.
Looking down at the caller ID he was slightly surprised to see JJ's name there. She didn't call him very often, since she went to the DOD and never this late at night. He flipped open his phone as he got out of bed to stop the ringing, heading for the hall where he could talk more comfortably without disturbing his wife.
"JJ? What is it?" His voice was still quiet and there could be no doubt that he was trying not to disturb the other occupants of the house.
He heard a deep shuddering breath on the other end, "How is she still sane?"
"JJ it's almost midnight." Aaron knew what this was about but wished it could have waited, at least until morning; he really was too tired for this conversation.
"I know and I'm sorry. But I did what you asked and I just needed…"
"I understand. I felt the same way."
"The things that this guy has done are… What they had to go through the first time to catch him. When she found out he was out there again, how did she not lose her mind?"
"She almost did." Hotch reach up and rubbed his forehead, trying to decide how much to tell JJ about the months between his escape and when she finally left.
"It was a month before she finally told me what was happening. You remember when she started to pull away from everyone. When I finally got it out of her, it was after I almost met the business end of her Glock. I think it was that shock that finally allowed her to ask for help. I had startled her one night in the parking garage at the base; I was going to try to talk to her. She was suffering from sleep deprivation and acute hyper-vigilance."
"But how did you guys get from this to believing that the only way to get the guy was to fake her death?"
"JJ…. I'm really too tired for this."
"I'm just trying to understand Hotch. You want my help with the team then I need to understand." JJ felt equal parts sympathy and frustration when it came to dealing with Hotch over this. The man really was good at couching his words.
"She truly understood that he was coming for her when the first agent was killed in Brussels. The man was undercover at the time and in an attempt to find him, he killed his whole family, close friends and his handler, all in the span of a day. She knew then that not only was she in danger but that the rest of us where by mere association. Emily understood then that if he made it to the States, there was no way we would stay out of the way if she was in danger and she couldn't risk leaving for fear of what he would do to us if he couldn't find her."
Silence was all he heard on the other end of the phone, "We talked over every possible scenario but she was dead set on this one and in hindsight it did take care of all of the problems. She truly didn't care about anything but keeping us safe from him. Not even her own life."
"I'm so sorry Aaron." Hotch's eyes rose at the familiar address. Even when he had given JJ leave to do so she had never used it. "I'm sorry that I doubted you."
"In your place… I would have too."
"Tell Emily, that anything she needs, I'm here. I think between the three of us we'll manage the team too."
"Thank you JJ, I think that will help. I know she's afraid of their reaction."
Hearing the exhaustion in his voice she decided to end the conversation, "So are we still doing this on Wednesday night?"
"Yes. I want to do this soon, now that she's home."
"I'll see you then. Take care Hotch."
Aaron clicked his phone shut and leaned back on the wall. Her phone call was a load off of his mind. JJ was privy to information that not even Hotch's own security clearance wouldn't have been able to access. He wouldn't know anything if it hadn't been for Sean, because even after the parking garage, she still wasn't talking. But she did send Sean McAllister to him, who had the pull to get Aaron the clearance he needed.
The things he read in those files still gave him nightmares about what he had to face alone. But he knew that they still couldn't tell the team everything, so much of it still classified. JJ was their ace in the whole, someone that they trusted that could explain that there really was no other option. She would be able to calm down Garcia and by extension Derek, and his reaction was the one that he was most concerned about.
Emily was again showing signs of PTSD and while the hyper-vigilance was not as acute it was still there. Having Derek angry with her and any potential blow up that could result wouldn't be good for her. But perhaps he was making mountains out of mole hills.
Hotch pushed away from the wall and headed back to bed, back to his wife. He smiled at that thought. For the first time since they were married, it didn't have to be a secret anymore and with that brought a joy to his heart that he didn't expect to ever feel again.
A year ago this shift in their relationship wouldn't have even occurred to him, now it was something he didn't think he could live without.
Secrets Not Told
Derek stood at the end of the couch next to Garcia and sighed again.
JJ finally snapped at him, "Would you stop doing that?"
"I'll stop when you tell me what the big secret is." Derek had a frown on this face and his arms were crossed, doing his best to try and intimidate the answer out of her.
JJ rolled her eyes at him, some things never changed. The doorbell rang and she got up to answer the door grateful to escape him for a couple of moments.
Derek heaved another sigh.
Penelope poked him in the side, causing his glare to turn on her, and like JJ her response was to roll her eyes at him. Did he really think that look was gonna work on them? Hotch was really the only one that could make you crumble with a look, Rossi pulled it off once and awhile, but never Derek, he was too much the 'big brother' to them and they all knew he was a closet softy.
"You do know if you keep doing that she's gonna dig her heals in and refuse to tell you anything." Derek just huffed at her, knowing she was right.
"I just don't get it Mama. Why we had to do this here and what the big secret is. Why couldn't Hotch just tell us at work?"
"I don't know sugar, but its Hotch and its JJ. I'm just gonna trust that they know what they are doing and wait. I would suggest you do the same." Penelope reached up and gave his arm a jerk, pulling him down beside her.
Reid walked into the room and looked around and the others, it seemed he was the last to arrive again. He moved over to the couch and sat down next to Ashley, giving her a small smile. "Hey guys. Any idea what's going on?"
JJ huffed at them and didn't bother to stick around for more poking and prodding. The next time someone came back to life they could hold the resurrection at someone else's house. She threw her arms in the air and headed for the kitchen to help Will.
"Nope and she's not talking." Derek folded his arms and poke his chin at the hall JJ had just headed down.
"She's JJ." Reid said that as if it explained everything, "If she doesn't want to tell you something, you won't get it out of her. Too much dealing with the press I think."
Rossi just leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. His brow was furrowed and Derek knew that he hadn't been paying attention to anything they were saying. He didn't even seem to notice when Reid came in the room.
"You know something don't you man?" It might have been posed as a question but it was a statement. Whatever this big thing was, Rossi knew something.
"I don't." At everyone's look of skepticism he snorted. "I don't. But haven't you noticed how relaxed he's been the last few days. And taking time off work? When was the last time he took time off work, especially with no explanation?"
JJ stomped back into the room, intent on ending this whole conversation. "For the love of god, will you all just stop this, Hotch will be here any minute and you can all find out for yourselves."
"It's just strange Jay. He hasn't been acting like himself; he's not returning our calls and now this clandestine meeting?" Garcia tried to stare JJ down in an attempt to get her to say something. "If you didn't know you would be speculating just like the rest of us."
She sighed softly and sat down on the chair next to Dave. "I know, I know. But this isn't getting us anywhere and this is going to be hard enough without you all building it up into something beforehand."
"It's going to be hard enough JJ? You're not helping, in fact you're freaking us out a bit."
"Just…" JJ took a deep breath and looked around at the others who were all intent, looking at her. "Just promise me that you won't do anything rash. That you'll just hear him out before you react." She pierced Derek with a look, "Especially you, Derek Morgan."
His eyebrows shot up and he raised his hands in surrender. "I haven't done anything."
JJ was saved from further comment by the doorbell. There was only one person it could be and with the sound, everyone tensed, waiting for the next blow to their family.
All Their Secrets Coming Out
"Emily please calm down. I haven't seen you this worked up since before you told me about Doyle." She was twisting her hands together and staring at the front door of JJ and Will's home. Her breath was coming rapidly and Hotch was almost concerned that she would hyperventilate before they made it inside.
Emily's eyes flitted over to him before going back to the door. "What if they don't forgive me? What if we can't make them understand?" She could tell by the cars out front that the entire team was there already.
"Sweetheart, look at me." Emily's eyes again flitted over to him but when she tried to turn away he cupped her face in his palms, making her focus on him. "No. Look at me." Once Hotch was sure that he had her full attention he continued, "They are going to understand. If we have to, we'll break it all down for them, explain to them about Mario, help them to see why we made the choice that we did."
"I'm scared." Her soft voice trembled slightly.
Hotch brushed the hair off her forehead and pressed his slips to her clammy skin. "I know you are, but they love you."
"I never had this before. There was never anyone that mattered this much, before the BAU. I never stayed in one place long enough, even as an adult, to form these kinds of attachments to people."
"Emily… I won't lie to you. Are they going to be hurt and upset? Yes. But they will understand. JJ has been digging around for the last couple of days and knows exactly who you were dealing with. She'll help them to understand."
"It's going to seem completely out of left field Aaron. They didn't even know I was in danger."
Aaron blew out a breath. "They know little bits. They have all met Sean; they know he's someone from your past and that someone named Ian Doyle had been after you. We didn't tell them much but they were able to put the pieces together, along with your behavior before the accident, and I confirmed what I could."
Emily took several deep breaths, "Okay…. Okay. I can do this."
"Of course you can. You are one of the strongest women I know. And you still have me. We will make it through this together."
She tried to smile but it was tentative at best. "Promise me?"
"I promise." Aaron smiled softly before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
Hotch pushed the door and got out of the car, mumbling under his breath as he made his way around the other side. "I'll just be happy if no one belts me again."
They slowly made their way up the walk to the front door in deference to Emily's leg. She was getting better at moving about but Aaron was still concerned about stressing it too much, especially since they had yet to see the specialist in Washington. Which normally wouldn't be a problem but she adamantly refused to use crutches.
Leaving the choice up to Emily, Hotch stood back and waited for her to press the bell. They could hear voices coming from inside and she tensed slightly when JJ spoke louder than the others, fearing the worst.
Aaron placed a hand on the small of her back and smiled softly at the look of nervousness in her eyes. Emily took comfort from that and forced herself to ring the doorbell. It took no time at all for the door to swing open and JJ to be standing in their midst.
JJ reached out a hand for Emily, speaking softly, "Come in, everyone is here."
"I guess it's now or never." Emily grasped her hand and followed her inside.
She could hear the quiet voices coming from the front room but couldn't make out what they were saying. She glanced over at Aaron and without asking he moved in front of her, taking the lead into the room.
Emily practically clung to the back of Hotch's jacket as they moved into the room. She kept her head down as JJ moved around her, dragging one hand across her shoulders in a moment of solidarity.
She took a deep breath and looked up. At first no one reacted, it seemed as if the room was collectively holding its breath and then Garcia gasped and the room finally moved.
There was a cacophony of noise and everyone rushed her. With her feelings so close to the surface she could feel the panic start to rise but she pushed it down, until someone touched her.
Aaron felt her trembling increase and could see the panic in her eyes. He did his best to block her from the others but they weren't paying attention to her expression in their excitement. Finally he pushed her behind him and raised his voice in a way the others had never heard before. "BACK OFF!"
And again, silence permeated the air as the others realized that she was trembling and white as a sheet. While the others backed off in a hurry in the face of his anger, Garcia did not.
She moved forward slowly and did something that not many would have been brave enough to do.
Penelope clutched onto the arm of Hotch's jacket and peaked around his body, taking in clearly for the first time one of her dearest friends, Emily Prentiss.
"Em, is it really you?" Her voice was soft and waivered on the emotion filling her body.
Trembling Emily looked up into the eyes of one of her closest friends and the tears finally came. "I'm sorry Pen. I'm so sorry."
Emily let go of the back of Hotch's jacket and moved slightly around him. One on one she was okay and that seemed to be enough for the tech. Garcia launched herself at Emily, pulling her into a tight hug. "You're here. I don't care, about how or why. You're here and that's all that matters."
The two friends clung to each other and cried tears of relief. At that point, everyone else figured that it was safe to move forward. Soon she was surrounded by her family and realized that Pen was right. None of it mattered. They were together again.
Hotch pulled himself away from the others, and stood with Will off to the side. Watching the scene before him he was once again filled with guilt, but he knew without a doubt that it was nothing compared to what Emily was feeling because in the end it had been her decision.
He could feel the confusion radiating off of the others in the room. There was some anger because everyone knew by this point that he had to have known. Aaron actually counted himself lucky that the only one to actually hit him was JJ. Not that the woman was a lightweight by any stretch of the imagination.
Now that all of the greetings were out of the way and everyone had started to calm down some it was starting to sink in; he could see the looks of accusation and looked down at the floor, attempting to make himself smaller. This was the part that he was most afraid of.
Emily seemed to understand what was about to happen and forestalled the fight that was coming. "Don't. Please. It was my choice. He couldn't tell you."
She refused to allow Aaron to take the brunt of their anger. She knew logically that he was the safest outlet for it but it had been her idea, her decision in the end, and while he had agreed with her, he really was just along for the ride.
Derek turned to face Hotch and JJ could see that he was working himself up to something, and she did was always worked with the media, in the hopes that it would work this time, deflection.
JJ stepped between the two men and turned the focus on someone else. "Dave… You don't look all that shocked." She raised an eyebrow at the older man.
"I am… But at the same time, I'm not."
And it worked because Derek turned to Dave instead, "Meaning what?"
Dave looked over at Aaron and considered the man for a moment. "That day, in your office, you spoke of her in the present tense. And no offence Hotch, but I don't think I have ever known a more precise, anal person in all my life."
"I had been hoping that you wouldn't notice." Aaron actually looked embarrassed and the look caused his wife to smile softly at him as she moved to his side.
"Since Strauss told us about the accident you were being overly careful and exacting. But that day you were on edge and emotional, you weren't censoring yourself like you had been since the funeral."
"So you just made the leap that she was alive and Hotch was keeping it a secret?" Derek looked equal parts amused and angry; it was an interesting look for him and not one that anyone had ever seen before.
"Of course not," The look Dave gave him all but called him an idiot, "but over the last six months I have considered every possible reason for Hotch's behavior and this one did cross my mind… once."
Rossi moved over and stood in front of Emily, looking at her with something akin to awe in his eyes. "But it seemed too farfetched and out in left field. How did you do it? It's obvious that you didn't have the help from the FBI or Strauss would have known and I can say without a doubt that she didn't, so besides that the only other question is why?"
"And the answer lies with Interpol and Ian Doyle." Emily didn't want the conversation turned back on Hotch and decided to jump in.
"When we first captured Doyle, I was with Interpol." Hotch cut her off, realizing that she had been standing too long and led her over to a couch so she could rest her leg.
Emily and Hotch sat down on the couch and no one missed how close they were or how she had yet to let go of his hand. "It seemed logical to go to them with the idea when I first came up with it. There's a lot that I can't tell you, it's still classified and will probably always remain that way."
"Needless to say, Ian Doyle would make most of the people we have dealt with look like child's play. He was a complete sociopath but his motivations were never about killing it was all about the money, death was just a perk and one he enjoyed."
Emily's eyes got a glazed look as she thought back to the time she was talking about. "Frank, Foyet, Arnold, you could catch them if you could figure out what it was that motivated them but Ian could control his impulses for the most part and with his intelligence, not to mention money, he was surrounded by a wall of protection no one could get passed. Until we tried, we caught him, we convicted him and in the end it was us he would have come for."
Emily tipped her head down and started to breath harder, unable to repress her emotions. Hotch let go of her hand and pulled her into his side doing is best to offer what support he could to his wife. The others all watched in varying degrees of shock as he whispered softly in her ear causing her to nod gently and try to keep going.
She looked up at the others and Garcia actually gasped at the pain in her face. "My being alive, being here, put you all in danger in a way that our jobs never do, because he wouldn't have cared about anything other than the fact that you were in his way and he would have killed you all, if you were between him and me." She did her best to express to them with her eyes alone how serious this was, how much danger they were in and that this was the best protection she could offer them.
Rossi attempted to turn the conversation back to something less emotional. "Why didn't you keep it in house, with the FBI, or the State Department?"
This was better. This was something she could talk about and get control over her emotions at the same time. "Besides needing to be dead, I had to be able to move freely through several countries, carry weapons, and get help from people who knew what was going on. We were basically conducting an investigation on an international level. The only people with that kind of pull in so many places, is Interpol."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Emily turned to Penelope and saw that the tears she had been crying since the realization of Emily being alive where still going strong.
"We couldn't. Besides the fact that the accident was not when we had planned my exit. There was the fact that Interpol would only assist us if we swore that only the three of us would know. Hotch and Sean McAllister, who was my handler at Interpol and me."
"But others had to have known." This came from Rossi who seemed more intent on digging out the how and the why of things.
Hotch decided to give her a couple of minutes to regroup and took the question. "A couple of people in the state department and perhaps one or two in Justice, but other than that no one did. Being the daughter of an Ambassador meant that they couldn't erase her life completely, so Interpol enlisted just enough people to stall things, like probate, so that when she came back there would be less of a mess to clean up."
"But they sold her apartment and all of her stuff is gone." This came from Reid whose mind was already churning over the problems this had to have caused.
"I was the executor of her will. Sean and I did what we had to, to keep up appearances, everything is stored or in trust. On the surface, to anyone looking she was dead. Death certificates filed but never used and her estate documents in probate but stalled by someone in the Justice Department. Believe me this was all well thought out."
Derek finally decided to jump in, having met the woman once, "Speaking of the Ambassador…"
Emily actually let out a snort at that. "There were so few people involved that not even my Mother was able to ferret out what had happened to me. Granted she knew something was up when there was no body…" Emily trailed off with a shrug.
"And she didn't do anything?" Being one of only two people in the room who had never met Ambassador Prentiss, Ashley looked horrified.
Emily's look was pained at best. "My Mother is a Politian first and a parent second. All anyone had to tell her was National Security and that was it. But, not even she knew I was still alive, at least not for certain."
"Your funeral was a public event, how are they going to get around that?" Dave looked truly curious and if the others would admit to it so where they.
"In a week or so, Interpol will hold a press conference and I'll be mentioned in passing so that it will clear the air. Likely they will claim that it was a joint effort of many governments… blah, blah, blah, more political crap." They could all here the derision in her voice and some even chuckled at it. "The offered me the time to come home and explain things to all of you first, so that you wouldn't hear it on the news."
Silence fell over the room as everyone tried to absorb all of the information that they had received in the last little while. Aaron could tell that she was in pain and rose to get her a glass of water, hoping to convince her to take something for her leg now, instead of when the pain got to be too much.
Derek was the first to end the silence and his question, the way he asked, broke another piece of her heart. "So when are you coming back to the BAU?"
"I won't be coming back Derek." She reached out and touched his hand, trying to convey her sadness with her touch and after a moment his eyes flickered down and she could tell that he knew.
"What? Why not? You're back now, they fix the paperwork and you can come back home." Reid was the one that spoke and he looked so adorably confused and she remembered why she liked him as much as she did.
"It's not that I don't want to…"
"Then what's the problem?"
She tapped her leg with her hand, indicating her knee. "The damage to my knee is permanent; the final price to pay for Doyle being gone. They did all kinds of tests and scans in Paris and they can fix some of it but I will never be fit for field duty again. I'll never walk without a cane."
She felt Aaron's presence over her shoulder and looked up at him, reaching for his hand. "And besides, I have different priorities now." She used her thumb to trace the band on his finger and he smiled softly at her.
With that Garcia finally perked up and started to show some of her old spark. "Okay… Now how did this come about, and how did I not know?"
Aaron actually laughed at that, startling several people in the room. "We were married a little over a month before the accident but we have been together for longer than that."
"When Emily started to pull away." Reid looked impressed that he actually got it before the others did.
Hotch just tapped the side of his nose. "Got it in one."
Where The Future May Lead
Hotch was exhausted. Flat out. This last few days had been an emotional roller coaster ride for both him and Emily and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed with her and sleep for several days. Jack was staying with Jessica overnight, since they didn't know how long it would take them at JJ's place.
It was a hard sell with her just returning home but he finally agreed. What did it was the promise that both he and Emily would be home for the rest of the week and he would have lots of time with both of them.
Aaron knelt down by the side of the bed and helped her to redress her knee before resting his hands on her hips. "That went better than I expected." He knew that it wasn't over but honestly couldn't have hoped for this much.
Emily just nodded her head but continued to look at the floor. Hotch sighed and decided to plow right in, instead of pussy footing around the subject. It was more than obvious that she wasn't going to open up without a little push.
"How are you feeling?"
She shrugged her shoulder negligently before responding in a soft tone, "Little bit lost, happy, confused, tired and still a little scared."
"Why are you scared now?"
"For almost the last year I have been living off adrenaline and fear. There's a part of me that's terrified that I'm going to wake up and he's going to be alive and this will have all been nothing but a dream."
"I would think that was normal."
"I know, but it doesn't change the way I'm feeling right now, does it."
Again Aaron experienced that same feeling of déjà vu and responded to her the same way that he did the last time. "No. It doesn't."
"I know that I'm not quite right Aaron. I'm still jumpy and tense. I know that I promised you that I would come back to you alive and… whole."
Aaron shot up from the floor and pulled her into his arms. "I'm glad you're home, that you are alive. You have no idea how many times I lay awake at night sure that you wouldn't be able to make it back to me. Everything else, all if it, we'll work through."
"All of my life I've been so strong, capable. But now all of my coping mechanisms are gone. I can't tuck this away and keep going. I feel like I'm going to fall apart at any second and then there won't be anything left of me."
"Do you know what I think?" Emily looked up into his eyes and shook her head.
"I think that by telling me that, admitting to that, even to me, means that in the end you are going to be okay."
Hotch cupped her cheeks in his warm palms and pressed a soft lingering kiss to her lips. When he finally pulled away she was smiling and for the first time since she arrived home it actually reached her eyes.
Aaron wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her into bed. He made sure that her cane was in reach, pills on the night table and a glass of water, should she be in pain, before making his way around the bed to his own side and climbing in next to his wife.
Emily immediately rolled over into his arms and adjusted her leg so that her knee was elevated and resting on his thigh. A position that he had discovered she was most comfortable in with the damage to her leg. He brushed the hair away from her forehead, carding his fingers through the short tresses on top before placing a gentle kiss to her skin.
"What do you want to do now?" This was another topic that they had avoided discussing up till that point.
"For the next while… spend time with my husband and son, see the doctor about my knee. I need to get my head on straight before I make any other plans. After that, who knows?"
"Emily Hotchner, nee Prentiss… doesn't have a plan?" There was a slight teasing lilt to his voice that made her laugh softly.
"Not this time." She let out a gentle sigh, "My life is open to me for the first time in longer than I care to remember. I always worried about Doyle coming back. I know we all did. Now that worry is gone."
Emily raised herself up, leaning on an elbow next to her husband and tipped her head in thought. What could she do now? Now that the threat in the back of her mind was gone? She obviously couldn't continue with the FBI as a field agent but there were other jobs she could do. She could finally think about having a family. She wasn't too old yet, and it was something she had always wanted but didn't think she could have.
She met her husband's eyes and her own crinkled at the corners at his look of contentment, not something she was used to seeing in him.
"Perhaps I'll go Dave's route and try my hand at writing, lord knows between Interpol and the BAU, I have enough stories to tell. Perhaps I'll look into teaching." She laced her fingers through his and admired the ring he was finally free to wear. "But for right now, all I really want is to spend my time with you and Jack, get to know the team again and enjoy the fact that I'm alive."
Aaron found that he couldn't argue with that.
The End
Post Note: That ended up to be much longer than I had intended. It started off at 13 pages and by the time I was done revising had climbed to 28. I'm still working on the prequel but "Sense Memory" is going to stall me a bit. The prequel deals a fair bit the Emily suffering from fear induced sleep deprevation and acute hyper-vigilance and they actually touched on it during the episode so I may have to rethink her point of view because right now it looks a bit like a knock off of the episode. So I hope you enjoyed, and thank you again to everyone who read the first one, or reviewed, or flagged the story, I hope that this lived up to expectations.